Gambit Part 1
In the Gambit '' |image= |series= |production=40277-256 |producer(s)= |story=Christopher Hatton and Naren Shankar |script=Naren Shankar |director=Peter Lauritson |imdbref=tt0708721 |guests=Richard Lynch as Baran, Robin Curtis as Tallera, Julie Caitlin Brown as Vekor (as Caitlin Brown), Cameron Thor as Narik, Alan Altshuld as Yranac, Bruce Gray as Admiral Chekote, Sabrina Le Beauf as Ensign Giusti, Stephen Lee as Bartender, Derek Webster as Lt. Sanders |previous_production=(TNG) Interface (Overall) The Siege |next_production=(TNG) Gambit Part 2 (Overall) Invasive Procedures |episode=TNG S07E04 |airdate=11 October 1993 |previous_release=(TNG) Interface (Overall) The Siege |next_release=(TNG) Gambit Part 2 (Overall) Invasive Procedures |story_date(s)=Stardate 47135.2 |previous_story=(TNG) Interface (Overall) The Siege |next_story=(TNG) Gambit Part 2 (Overall) Invasive Procedures }} =Summary= After Picard disappears during an archeological trip, the crew is told that the captain was vaporized by a group of mercenaries who attacked him in a bar on Dessica II. While the Enterprise-D crew prepares for a memorial service, Riker — now acting captain — asks for and receives permission from Admiral Chekote to investigate Picard's death. Riker learns from an Yridian trader named Yranac, a witness to the crime, that the alleged murderers have moved on to the Barradas system, so he takes the Enterprise-D there and finds one M-Class planet. Over Data's objections, Riker leads an away team to the surface where they find ruins of an ancient Debrune outpost. The team is attacked by the mercenaries, who take Riker captive and beam away with him. On board the mercenary ship, Riker is greeted by the group's leader, Arctus Baran, who implants the prisoner with a neural servo capable of inflicting great pain. Riker is astounded to discover that Picard is aboard the ship, alive and well, posing as a smuggler named Galen. Seizing an opportunity to talk alone, Picard explains to Riker that while on an expedition, he found that a site had been looted and practically destroyed, so he wanted to search out who was responsible. He tracked down the mercenaries to the bar on Dessica II, asked too many questions and was taken captive. Rather than being "vaporized," Picard was actually beamed away by weapons that activate their transporter. He then convinced his captors that he was a smuggler who was an expert on appraising relics, so that he could stay on board and learn why they are stealing Romulan artifacts. Believing that Baran is looking for something specific that he's keeping to himself, Picard tells Riker to get close to Baran and gain his confidence. Meanwhile on the Enterprise, Data surmises that the next target for a mercenary raid will be Calder II, which has a small Federation outpost with limited defenses, so as acting captain he sets a course for that planet. Picard learns that Baran's next objective is indeed the Sakethan burial mounds on Calder II, and points out that it's defended by Starfleet. Baran expects they can destroy the outpost, but Picard convinces him to avoid violence by using Riker to help them get through Federation controls. When the mercenary ship reaches Calder II, they encounter problems with their raid, so Baran orders the Starfleet outpost destroyed. But the Enterprise arrives on the scene and fires upon them. Baran prepares to engage in combat with the starship. To Be Continued... =Errors and Explanations= Internet Movie Database Character error # In describing Picard to a stranger, Troi apparently described him as "about two meters tall" (or 6' 6"). While not inaccurate in an absolute sense, in the context of describing a human it is very misleading, implying that Picard is exceptionally tall for a human. He probably seems tall to Troi. Nit Central # Ryan on Sunday, August 28, 2005 - 4:59 am: Why do the mercenaries bother to abduct Riker? With Starfleet showing up, I doubt they want to stick around any longer than they have to. Yet they take the time to hop on over (dangerously close to the other officers who should have been firing) and grab him. In the next scene Vekkor and Narik both agree that Riker is useless and should be disposed of ... so why did they risk so much to take him in the first place? Will on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 10:15 am: Riker was captured as a potentially useful hostage. The mercenaries couldn't know what a bad officer he was, once Riker started to lie about himself to them. He was used, in effect, as a shield, so that the Enterprise didn't blow the mercenaries out of the sky, which they could have feared. But, they shouldn't have changed their minds so quickly from scene to scene. # Cybermortis on Sunday, April 27, 2008 - 7:47 pm: Crusher states that she is picking up 'StarFleet fibre traces" in the bar. So are we to assume from this that Picard went into this really seedy bar in his uniform and managed to convince everyone he wasn't a Starfleet captain? inblackestnight on Monday, April 28, 2008 - 11:54 am: I'm fairly certain she meant fibers replicated from SF technology, not the actual uniforms. Category:Episodes Category:The Next Generation